economy? >> well, no, i wouldn't say so because if you look at the housing market today, we just saw that story, i agree. i don't believe those new housing sales numbers. overall, the single family construction market is still completely in a slump. you can blame that completely on the fact that it's very hard to get credit out there in the housing market today. and that's really suppressing what should be a big boost to the overall u.s. economy. so, we're really suffering as a result of this. it isn't helping. >> guys, thank you. >> this is only going to make it worse. >> appreciate your thoughts. have a good convention. >> thank you. >> thanks, guys. we now have a little more than half an hour to go before the close. we're keeping a close eye on markets as we head into the close. >> we're coming bang here. >> about 34 points. more than 1030 points at the low. >> we'll see if we can come back in the last half hour. why did merrill lynch fail back in the crisis, you ask? former president of me